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over flow box with sump?

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Still making finishing mark ups on this 150g+55g sump. One thing that was brought up to me was waste. Basically he doesnt want to just skim the top of the tank like a section of over flow pipes would do. So i was thinking an overflow box would be the answer. Of course diy. Not 100% on how those work. Any ways if im thinking wrong here let me know. He wants something that will pull suspended particles out of the water like a power filter would do. This would also give me a great way to hide the overflow pipes.

So heres my plan:
One larger ish water tight box except the lid. This will be the box. Im thinking of trying to make it 6" long 4" wide and 20" deep.
The tank will have 1 2" pvc pipe going from the tank to the box, this will hold a siphon. This will keep the box's water level the same as the tank.
Inside the box will go the classic overflow pipes that would set the water level in both the box and tank.
Of course im adding a mesh to keep fish outa the pipes.

Any ways... Would this work for what i need? I forget the flow rate i was shooting for (the specs are on my computer) but i think i found the 2" pvc to have a gravity feed of above what i needed.

KING OF THE GOLD BARBS RAWR!!!!I wonder if i plant one of my tiger barbs would the demon seed grow to a full tree?gotta love them bunnies! I.R.S.: We've got what it takes to take what you've got!

Any ways... Would this work for what i need? I forget the flow rate i was shooting for (the specs are on my computer) but i think i found the 2" pvc to have a gravity feed of above what i needed.

With overflows it is always a good idea to take what flow rate you need, then go way over it. When you get near the max flow rate for them you run into all kinds of odd things. Mostly you get noise. Occasionally they will make little whirlpools that make an insane amount of noise.

Also those U pipes work great, but they will get air bubbles in them and eventually break the siphon. You can go primitive and just stick an airline in it and suck out the air every few months, or you can get an aqualifter and create constant suction to always keep it a siphon.

Having trouble picturing what you are doing. Is the box inside the tank?

thats what im thinking about, this seems like would solve a few issues. 1 it would hide extra pipes, 2 it would allow for suspended paticles in the water to be removed instead of just the surface being skimmed, 3 the box would be drill able so we can probably loose the mess of pipes in there. and im sure im forgetting something. but yea, that was my idea, in theory it should work.... right?

also the pipes will be 2" pipes, and the pumps im using to return im estimating 1000gph, counting for loss of flow with head weight. the 2" pipe should give me 2200gph estimated.

Last edited by genocidex; 07-24-2013 at 05:55 PM.

KING OF THE GOLD BARBS RAWR!!!!I wonder if i plant one of my tiger barbs would the demon seed grow to a full tree?gotta love them bunnies! I.R.S.: We've got what it takes to take what you've got!

Aqualift keeps it simple. Constantly applies suction so if the siphon breaks it will pull the air back out by itself. Just need to "prime" it by putting water in the outside area...if that makes sense. Its liks $8. Totally worth the peace of mind.

well i basically want to make the acrylic style one. i figured the if i make it right i would be able to set the pipe as low in the tank as i would like and that would pull crud out of the column of water instead of just from the surface

KING OF THE GOLD BARBS RAWR!!!!I wonder if i plant one of my tiger barbs would the demon seed grow to a full tree?gotta love them bunnies! I.R.S.: We've got what it takes to take what you've got!

we were planning earth eaters and fine pfs. idk if those would work. i think i can set it up like that. i was thinking the earth eaters will be throwing crud up into the tank alot so i wasnt counting of too much settling lol

also, i was planning on making the box the same height as the tank, if i did it that way, wouldnt the siphon keep as long as we dont drain the tank below either of the ends? not including the air build up.